Draconian Fires
by jinakel wohess
Summary: An Espano guymelef has mercilessly destroyed parts of Gaia. Will Hitomi be able to return to Van? Is Van responsible for the masacre of his own people?
1. Revenge and Lonliness

Disclaimer – I do not own Escaflowne or the characters of Escaflowne.

And I must give credit and many thanks to Benny, who's been my perfect muse for the ideas of this fic.  

**Chapter One – Estrella's Vow**

Estrella could hear the animals scream.  Birds took flight in order to flee from the scene of destruction that was washing ever closer to the small mountain village.  Woodland creatures scurried from underneath the pounding feet of the machine that walked steadily closing the gap between it and the outermost home of the town.  Entire tree trunks snapped in half as the large white Espano guymelef crashed through the forest, coming relentlessly closer to her small village.  

Every warrior was attacking the towering machine, trying to slow its progress to the village and trying to save the lives of the people who lived there.  Bows and arrows, swords, and clubs had little effect on the hard outer shell of the guymelef.  She cringed as the townspeople fought against a mountain of a machine to save their lives and the lives of their loved ones.  Estrella held her little brother close and watched helplessly from the doorway of their small house as her father was crushed underfoot of the gleaming white guymelef.  Her little brother screamed out, clutching more feverishly to her skirts.

The village people worked together to try to stop it, but a handful of brave warriors is no match for the large machine of a guymelef.  It's dark blue and red cape flapped in the rising wind, a result of the burning houses in the village.  Embers sparked and swirled around it.  Estrella pushed her little brother back into the house, telling him to stay with their mother and hoping that he could actually hear her over the terrified screams of the villagers.  With grim determination, she took a hold of her sword that leaned against the inside of the doorway.  She was a warrior, too, and she was not going to stand by and let her home be destroyed.  

The guymelef did not notice the humans clinging to its shell, desperately trying to stop the massacre of the villagers.  It drew its large sword, swiping at entire houses and laying waste to whole families in mere seconds.  It stepped mercilessly on the small humans scrambling about its feet, crushing houses and barns alike as it trampled through the tiny mountain village.

It was coming for her home.  With a deep breath, Estrella calmed her nerves and began the soft chant that would focus her energy and grant her strength.  The guymelef did not seem daunted in the slightest as she raised her sword and called out in a challenge.  It simply kept walking forward, paying no attention to the insignificant woman defending her home.  Estrella stood her ground, holding her sword ready and feeling the ground shake beneath her with each massive step of the guymelef.  She braced herself for the crushing force of the bottom of its foot.

But it passed over her, towering into the heights of the sky as it missed stepping on her.  Its foot, instead, landed on her house, where her brother and mother were hiding inside.  A scream of rage tore itself from her throat as she charged the devilish white guymelef.  The heat of the burning houses intensified as she let go of her hatred in that cry, and flames flickered higher to scorch the perfect white of the Espano guymelef.

*******

"Hitomi," the teasing voice called from the top bunk, "are you still day-dreaming about that guy?"  Crystal's head appeared upside down as she hung from the edge of the top bed.  "You need to get out more or find that guy."

Hitomi sighed and held out her latest sketch of Van for inspection.  Crys whistled.  

"He's hot," she said with a wink.  "So why aren't you with him again?"

"'Cause I'm an idiot," Hitomi said without hesitation.  

"You weren't an idiot," Crys argued.  "You were young and the idea of spending the rest of your life with that King, no matter how hot he is, is just wrong when you're fifteen."

Hitomi sighed again and closed her sketchpad.  "You're right."

"Aren't I always?"  Crystal's head disappeared again as she sat up in bed.  Hitomi rolled over onto her back, staring up at the wooden slats on the bottom of Crys's bed.  She stretched out, reveling in the fact that their beds were by the window.  At this time of day the sun streamed in through the blinds and made her bed so warm and comfortable.  She curled up in the little patch of waning sunshine like a cat seeking a warm place for a nap.  Her hair fanned out around her head, still styled in a long boy-cut like it had been when she had first met Van.  Hitomi wasn't as skinny now as she had been five years ago.  She'd lost her boyish figure and adopted the more mature curves of a woman, but she kept her lean muscles that resulted from her continuous involvement with track.  

"Do you want to come with me to the Main?" her roommate asked as she jumped down from her bed.  "It's almost 7:00." 

Hitomi sighed again.  "Yea, I guess we should before the cafeteria closes."  She'd had reservations about coming to college here in the United States, but Yukari supported her completely and pushed her to accept her scholarship to the university.  Once she had arrived at school, Hitomi had been even more nervous upon meeting her roommate.  Her roommate had turned out to be Black, an ethnicity that was, needless to say, quite underrepresented in Japan.  But Crystal, who preferred to be called Crys, turned out to be Hitomi's missing piece, prompting Hitomi to emerge from her shell of shyness and become about a fourth as independent as Crys was.  And amazingly enough, Crys didn't find Hitomi's story about Gaia, Van, the Escaflowne, or saving the world odd at all, and she believed every word Hitomi said about the fantastical place where Van lived.    

"You know, we're supposed to sign up for housing this week.  You still want to be roommates next year?" Crys asked.  It was a useless question; she and Hitomi had already decided to live together again for the third year in a row.  

"Uh huh," Hitomi mumbled as she looked up at the pink clouds illuminated by the setting sun.  

"Are you listening to be me at all?"

"Uh huh."

"I'm going to shave your head bald in your sleep."

"Uh huh."

"I knew you weren't paying any attention to me," Crys said, nudging Hitomi hard in the side and nearly knocking her off the sidewalk.  Squirrels chattered and ran around under Crys's feet.

"I'm sorry, what'd you say?" Hitomi asked, embarrassed at having been caught day dreaming again.  

"It doesn't matter," Crys said with a little smile as she tried to nudge the squirrels away from her.  "And if you think about him so much, you should go and see him."  She reached up and fingered the top edge of her short afro as they walked.  

"I can't just go there," Hitomi started.

"Bullshit."

"It's been five years!  You can't just show up at someone's house after five years and be like, 'Hi, remember me?  We fell in love back when we were fifteen years old…'  You can't just do that," Hitomi argued.

"Why not?" Crys argued back.

"Because it's too sudden.  Besides, he may not even remember me."

"And he might just be missing you as much as you miss him," Crys said with another nudge.  "And he's too scared to just show up after five years of not seeing you, too."

"You're right," Hitomi conceded.

"I always am," Crys boasted, giving a teasing smile.  "So are you going to see him or what?"

"It's not like I can just take a train."

"Well, then how do you go and see him?"

"Didn't I explain this once?" Hitomi asked, wanting to keep from talking about this out loud since they were now in the cafeteria and picking out their food from the regular choices of pasta, chicken strips, hamburgers, and rotisserie chicken.  

"You kind of did.  Spaghetti with meat sauce, please," Crys said, dividing her attention between Hitomi and the guy serving the pasta.  "Thank you," she said as she accepted her Styrofoam box of overcooked spaghetti and watery meat sauce.  

"I'll have spaghetti with marinara, please," Hitomi told the man behind the counter.  "This food sucks," she said in a low voice to Crys as she peered in her Styrofoam box of starch and tomato sauce.  

"Was there ever any doubt?" Crys laughed as they paid for their food and left the cafeteria to head back to their room.  They always ate in their dorm room.  

"Its amazing that people can eat this every day," Hitomi continued, looking at her spaghetti as if it would get up and walk away at any moment.  

"And its even more amazing that you don't just go to that guy and tell him that you still love him," Crys said, smoothly changing the subject back to Van.

"It's more complicated than that.  Besides, I'm too scared to just go back by myself," Hitomi started making excuses.  

"Hello?  I'm right here.  What's this 'going back by yourself' business?  Do I not get to go with you?" Crys asked.  The campus squirrels again came to play around her feet.  "Damn squirrels," she muttered trying to kick them away again.

"Of course I'd want you to come," Hitomi exclaimed.  "I didn't think you would want to go."

"And why not?  There's an extremely hot-looking guy on the other end of this trip.  Just please tell me that he has a good-looking brother or something."

"Actually, his brother did look pretty good…"

"Oh really?"

"But he died in the war."

"Damn."

The girls walked up the stairs leading to the front door of their dormitory, pausing as Crys fished her keys out of her pocket.

"You know," she said as she searched, "I care about more than just guys."  

"I know.  Thanks," Hitomi said with a smile, accepting a quick hug from Crys before they trudged indoors and up the stairs to their room.

*******

Estrella woke, looking up into the dark black sky speckled with stars.  She couldn't remember fighting against the guymelef.  Not knowing how she remained alive after attacking the machine, Estrella was lying in the grass near the village well, which was several yards from the edge of town.  She must have been thrown here.  With an aching head, she sat up, looking around at what used to be her village.  

The light reflected from the mystic moon illuminated what was left of her town.  The cold blue light contrasted with the red glow emanating from the foundations of houses as they burned themselves out.  Only a beam or pillar remained, charred and glowing a faint orange as the last embers cooled in the chilly mountain air.  

She stood up from her place in the dewy grass.  The heat from the recent burning of her village wafted across the dirt road and onto the meadow where she'd been laying.  Estrella covered her mouth with the corner of her skirt.  The stench of burning flesh and smoke made her choke, despite her mask of clothing.  She stumbled toward the remains of the village.  

The magistrate's home was once a striking two-story house with dark wood and a blue painted door.  Now only splinters of walnut lumber and flecks of blue paint littered the ground around the stone foundation.  The hardy furniture that she had admired as a child was now nothing but charred remains of a table leg or the frame of a bed.  That furniture had been hand crafted by the woodworker who lived several houses down, in a home that was chopped by the large guymelef's sword and burned to the ground.  

Estrella wandered through the village streets, looking for another soul to have survived the clash with the guymelef.  She found only the remains of the village people who had once made this town alive with laughter and celebration.  The healer who had lived three houses down from her own was lying next to a child, whose identity could not be determined by his conditions.  She suspected he was the troublemaker and youngest child of the Hartwood family, a jovial child with dark black hair and dancing blue eyes.  But he wasn't cheerful anymore.

Suppressing the urge to spill the contents of her stomach onto the ruins of her town, Estrella ran up the pathway to her own home.  She knew that her family was dead.  She'd seen her father die and could do nothing but watch as her mother and brother were condemned in the house that met the same fate as her father.  But she had too see.  With a frown under her mask of skirts, she stumbled into the rubble that had once been her home.  The ash made little puffs of clouds as she walked over the remains of the house, getting her skirts stained with the dark gray powder.  She couldn't see the blood or bodies of her mother and brother, but she knew they were under there somewhere.  

Something caught her eye.  The red sparkling stone her mother had worn.  It was missing its chain, and the once bright gold setting was black with ash and the intense heat of earlier.  The red stone in the middle of the sun-shaped gold was bright and untarnished.  With trembling fingers, she reached into the ash and extracted it from the ruins.  She held it tightly in her hands and close to her chest, her tears leaving cleaned tracks on her sweat- and ash-stained cheeks.  

Her village was dead.  The brave warriors who had trained her since childhood and protected their abode since before her father was born were trampled and slaughtered with their wives and children.  Standing from the rubble of her old home, Estrella vowed to avenge the deaths of each and every one of them.  She ripped a piece of black cord from the trim of her skirt, threading the end through the eyelet of the red sunstone in her hand.  Securing the necklace about her neck, the sparkling sun rested perfectly on top of the place where her collarbones met.  

Finding her sword near the well, Estrella left her village behind, seeking out the only one known to activate a white Espano guymelef.      


	2. Dreams and Decisions

Disclaimer – I do not own Escaflowne or the characters of Escaflowne.

**Dreams and Decisions**

**Chapter Two**

Hitomi didn't know where she was.  She sat still for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on and why her heart was thundering in her ribcage.  Fear had a tight grip around her, keeping her from focusing on anything tangible in front of her and making her stay in that panicked state of unawares for a moment longer.  She breathed deeply, sucking in breaths and trying to see her environment.  

The bed came slowly into focus, her stuffed panda bear at the foot of her bed on top of the flannel blanket with jumping sheep on it.  She blinked once, twice.  Her breathing still hadn't regulated, but she took more steady breaths.  The memory of the intense fear in her dream still plagued her, making her hold her hand to her chest just to make sure that she was still in one piece.  She remembered an attack, but she didn't know what kind of attack or who was trying to hurt her.  She only remembered that unparalleled fear that made her blood too cold and made her heart beat so loudly it hurt her ears.  

"Whoa," Crys said, making her way from her desk to Hitomi's bed.  "Did you have a bad dream or what?  You just sat straight up in bed, Hitomi, and you scared the shit out of me."

"I'm sorry," Hitomi breathed, her voice shaky.  She gripped the edges of her bed sheets between her fingers, determined to stop her hands from trembling.  "I just had a horrible dream."

"About what?"  Crys sat on the edge of her bed and handed Hitomi a convenient mug of lemon tea that she'd just warmed for herself.  "The rape dream again?"

Hitomi shuddered at the thought of that dream.  It had been too vivid for her to sleep well for weeks afterward.  "No," she admitted.  "It was something else.  But I can't even describe it."

"Don't weasel out of this," Crys said with a bit of tease in her voice.  Crys was always essential to lightening Hitomi's intense mood.  "Try to describe."

"It was just scary.  I was being attacked, and I don't know what it was and I was so scared that I just woke up.  But I couldn't tell that I'd woken up so I was still scared even though I wasn't dreaming anymore."

"Weird."

"Tell me about it.  My heart is still beating fast."

"Maybe it's the stress.  You've had a couple papers due this week," Crys offered, watching as Hitomi took shaky sips from her own tea.  

"Do I ever get weirded out by stress?"

"No, not really.  You're too mellow most of the time.  But don't think I don't notice when you're really busy with schoolwork and you skip meals."  Crys gave a little knowing smile.  "I guess we all deal with our stress in different ways, huh?"

"I guess."  Hitomi took another deep drink of the tea, glad that Crys had thought to add a packet of sweetener before handing it to her.  While Crys liked her tea raw and herbal, Hitomi took a liking to the Southern tradition of adding sugar by the teaspoonful.  "But I've never had bad dreams because of stress."

"What about the whole Gaia thing?"

"Those were visions, not dreams.  I was awake each time."  Hitomi sighed and handed the empty mug that said "Boo!" on it to Crys.  She flopped back onto her pillow, staring up at a photocopy of her favorite Van drawing that was stapled to the bottom of the bed above her.  "I still feel out of whack," she admitted in a soft voice.

"Well, sleepyhead, since you've been asleep for two-thirds of the day already, why don't you get up and let's go somewhere.  Take a shower and get dressed."

"Alright," Hitomi conceded, rolling over to look at the extra alarm clock that rested in the windowsill by her bed.  It read 3:13pm.  She rubbed her eyes and glared at the sun coming in through the blinds.  Crys had probably been up since 10 o'clock that morning, but Hitomi always slept in past 1 or 2 in the afternoon on Saturdays.  3:13 might just be a new record.  She did the math in her head.  She'd been asleep for the past thirteen and a half hours.  Had to be a new record.

Hitomi was ready to leave after a shower and dressing in an old pair of jeans, lavender tank top and her favorite worn-in black combat boots.  She was not known for dressing up on weekends.  Crys was about her opposite.  She looked what the sorority girls would call "cute" with a knee-length denim skirt, green shirt, matching green flip-flops, and matching green headband around her short 'fro.  Green was one of Crys's favorite colors, and she just happened to look great in it.  

"Ready to go?" Crys asked, eyeing Hitomi as she brushed her still wet hair out of her face while looking in the mirror.  

"Yea," Hitomi said, tearing herself away from the sink and following Crys out the door.  "So where exactly are we going?"  They traipsed down the stairs and out the front door of the dorm hall.  

"I dunno.  I figured we could grab some lunch at Yoshi's on the way to the zoo.  Maybe eat in the park outside, since its such a nice day."  As Crys was talking Hitomi looked up into the perfectly blue sky, unmarred by any clouds.  Only in Texas could you get a beautiful spring day like this after having a week of rain.  And rain was not a happy thing during tornado season.   

The resident alley cat started rubbing Crys's legs as they walked through campus to the cheap Japanese takeout place that was on the way to the park.  Crys tried to ignore its little mews, but she had to stop and reach down to pet the thing.

"Look at you, softy," Hitomi teased.  "You act all tough, but when a little kitty cat wants its head rubbed you cave every time."

"I hate cats.  I'm a dog person.  But if rubbing its head will get it to shut up and leave me alone, then I'll gladly oblige."  Crys flashed a dazzling smile and left the cat contented on the sidewalk.  

The girls walked in silence through campus, waving hello to the occasional passersby regardless of whether or not they knew the person.  Yoshi's wasn't busy at this time of day, so they quickly ordered their regular sukiyaki beef bowls and got two large green teas to go.  The park was only a few blocks away, and they didn't talk to each other again until Crys picked a picnic table under a tree for them to have lunch.  

"Still a little messed up from that dream thing?" Crys asked, noticing how Hitomi's hand shook as she pulled out her bowl from the paper bag.  Crys grabbed her own bowl and held her chopsticks in hand.  Hitomi had taught her how to eat with them the first year they'd roomed together, and Crys was now practically a pro.  

"Yea, I guess.  I still feel that fear in my heart.  It's odd."  Hitomi took a deep breath and started eating.  

"Very odd," Crys agreed.  "How is Hibiki doing?"  

Hitomi smiled.  They referred to her gigantic custom-made computer as Hibiki, because he's strong willed, thick headed and gets his ass into messes before he knows what he's doing.  There was a character on a series just like that.  And so her computer was named for that character, and he had proven to uphold his namesake.

"He's a little pissed at the fact that the power went out three times this last week because of all the storms we've had.  So he's been shutting down randomly on me every now and then," Hitomi answered between bites of rice and beef.  

"Probably because he misses his lover."  Crys started laughing out loud at the thought.  Her computer was named Gilliam, after another computer on another series.  And Crys insisted that her computer was gay, Hitomi's computer was gay, and they were both lovers.  Gilliam was away at the moment, visiting the Compaq tech support shop.  

"My computer is not twitchy just because your laptop isn't around," Hitomi insisted, smiling at the entirely too huge inside joke.  

"Oh yes he is.  Hibiki misses Gilliam.  He's a jilted lover!"  Crys and Hitomi burst into laughter, causing all the birds that had roosted in the tree above them to take flight.  And that only made them laugh more.  It took the girls a few minutes to calm down and compose themselves.  

  "So, speaking of jilted lovers," Crys started.

"No you don't," Hitomi warned.  "Don't start talking about Van again."

"Hey, you brought up his name, Hitomi, not me."  Crys gave her a look that said she wasn't going to back down off the Van issue.  

Hitomi gave yet another exasperated sigh.  She knew better than to fight with Crys.  The girl was as stubborn as they come.  "I miss him, ok?  Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Well, I already knew that you missed him.  What about him do you miss?"  Crys never tired of hearing Hitomi's fairy tale meeting with Van and their time together.  No matter how tough she seemed outside, Crys was a hopeless romantic deep down.  And she loved a good story.

"I miss the way we sat outside that one night, lying on the grass and just talking about ourselves and our families.  We connected then.  And I miss the way that he would always rush to protect me, then get flushed and embarrassed after he saved me or accidentally touched me."  Hitomi smiled at the memories.  "And I thought his being distant was because he didn't like me…"

Crys gave a sigh.  She knew the entire story by heart.  And she loved every minute of it.  "I wish we could go back there.  You could finally meet your Prince Charming, or King, or whatever he is now.  And we could have adventures and fun."

"Not all of it is fun.  There were several times when I could have died, Crys."

"But that kind of life is better than this," Crys insisted, waving her hand around at the world around them.  

Hitomi looked up at Crys.  They'd had this talk before too.  "I don't like going to school every day, and I don't like having to look forward to working every day of my life after I graduate.  I'd rather risk my life in an enchanted world than live through my mundane existence here," Hitomi admitted.

Traffic streamed by on the interstate not far from where the zoo and park were located.  People went on about their daily lives.  No one noticed the two suddenly solemn and discontented girls at a picnic table.  

"I wish we could just go back," Hitomi muttered, closing her eyes.

*******

"I wish she would just come back," Van sighed to himself, watching the sunrise over his kingdom.  Fanella was most beautiful when the sky was streaked with blinding orange, yellow and pale blue streams of color.  Light wisps of clouds floated high above his capital city, and Van longed to reach out and touch them.  He was contemplating forgoing his personal vow to not use his wings unless absolutely necessary when a scuffle on the roof tore him from his thoughts.  

"I told you, you can't come see him now.  Lord Van doesn't want any visitors," Merle insisted, stamping her little cat-foot and putting her hands on her hips.  She hardly looked intimidating standing in front of Van's cousin Augustus.  

Gus mimicked her pose with a slight smile tugging at his lips.  "And I told you, dear Merle, that I need to see Van," he said with that same soft monotone that reminded Van of Folken.  Everything about Gus reminded him of Folken.  The men could have been brothers, or twins, much more easily than Van and Folken.  They had that same light blue hair and dark red eyes.  But Gus's hair was longer and pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his neck, with some of the shorter strands near his face falling free and hanging in the wind.  

"Gus, don't make me claw you…"

"Little cat-girl, don't make me declaw you…"

"I'm not little!"

"You're smaller than me."

"Well, so is most of the country.  You're too tall to be smaller than anybody," Merle whined.  "And I'm not little.  I'm almost 18 years old."

"Then it's about time for you to move back to a tribe, find a tom, and start a litter," Gus countered.

"Stop it, you two," Van said, moving to stand up from where he'd been sitting on the roof.  Gus straightened up from his mock-Merle pose and rested a hand on the hilt of his sword.  

"General Augustus Fanel, requesting permission to speak freely, sir," Gus said without any of his former joking evident in his voice, posture, or words.  

Van's eyebrows knitted in confusion for a moment.  "Of course you can always speak without asking permission, Gus.  I don't know why you…"

"Then get your head out of your ass and ask her to come back, sir," Gus said, still standing at attention but adorning a smirk of satisfaction at seeing Van's mouth drop open.  

"Things aren't that easy," Van muttered, lowering his head.  "I don't know if she even wants to see me again.  How do I know that she won't haul off and hit me again?  She did the first time we met."

"That's cause you were acting like a pompous dick…"

"And she's the one who left.  I didn't want her to go."

"Did you tell her that?"

"No." 

Gus put a hand on Van's shoulder, leading him back to the open window and into the palace.  "I know it's not easy for you to admit you're a dick…" Van's head snapped up at Gus's words, but he continued as if he didn't notice his King's distress, "…and you can't deny that you were a dick for ever letting her leave five years ago.  But for the gods' sakes, it's been _five years_.  Either admit your mistake or move on."  Gus had never raised his voice when he chastised Van, but he still made Van feel two feet tall, rather than the six feet he'd grown to.  

"I just don't know what to do.  I'm going to be 21 in six months, and if I don't have a bride by then, then the Counsel will choose one for me…" Van said, talking mostly to himself.  

"Lord Van," Merle spoke up from his other side.  "The Counsel is already choosing."

"What?!"

"That's what I came to get you for, Van.  They have a selection of women in the Counsel Hall now.  And they're narrowing it down."  Gus gave Van a look of sympathy.  Van muttered under his breath the entire way to the Hall.  

Right before he stalked inside, Gus pulled him aside.  "Listen, Van.  If you want to fix this whole thing, you have to make up your mind today.  Either decide to go after Hitomi with the purpose of asking her to marry you, like you've wanted to for the last five years…or you accept whatever offer the Counsel makes.  Don't keep putting them off like you always do."

Van gave a curt nod.  He'd been skirting around the subject of marriage and an heir to the throne for the better part of two years.  It was time he made a decision.  


	3. Friends and Warnings

Thanks to azngurl for reviewing and liking my stuff :) 

Disclaimer – I do not own Escaflowne or the characters of Escaflowne.

**Friends and Warnings**

**Chapter Two**

"Dilandou?!"

"Highness, with all due respect, I do not think the Lady Selena appreciates being called Dilandou…"

"You want me to marry Dilandou?"  Van was pacing rapidly between the grouping of men called his Counsel and Allen's sister, gesturing wildly at the thin girl with wavy silver-blue hair.  He stopped suddenly and faced Selena.  "And I apologize for my rude behavior, but DILANDOU?!" he screamed, whipping around to face his Counsel again.

"Lord Van, it has come to our attention that Fanellia would benefit greatly from an alliance to the Lady Selena's home country…"

"Benefit is great for economic gain, but … Dilandou?" 

"I too thought this match was wrong," Selena's soft voice interrupted Van's booming loud one.  

He ignored his Counsel and walked closer to her.  She may be beautiful, but she was still Dilandou to him.  "I'm deeply sorry if I embarrassed you, Lady.  It's just…this choice of the Counsel's was quite unexpected.  And I do not mean to remind you of…"

"My brother has attempted to keep the truth of my terrible past from me, Highness, but I am aware of the atrocities that I've committed five years ago.  I only hope that your Highness can forgive me, and perhaps we can settle with being just friends."  Selena's blue eyes sparkled as she looked up at Van.  

And Van couldn't resist the smile that broke his stern facial expression.  "I would very much like to have a friendship, Lady," he replied, lowering to one knee as he kissed the back of her hand.  A bit formal, but after not seeing the alter ego of his arch enemy for five years, he thought formality would be the safest way to breach the void between them.  

Counsel members grumbled as they left the room, their plans to get their king married off thwarted yet again.  

"You do realize that Millerna was their second choice," Gus spoke up from his place beside Van's throne.  

"Oh no, not Millerna," Merle groaned as she appeared from the shadows somewhere in the King's Hall.  

"She's worse than I am," Selena added, smiling a little at her self-insult.  

Van merely sighed and flopped into the soft cushion of his throne, a most undignified pose.  "I truly am sorry for my reaction earlier," he mumbled to Selena.  Since his brash enthusiasm had passed, he felt infinitely tired and weighed down by his station. 

"I am aware of my past, as I said Highness.  I am not happy with it either."  She smiled as she looked at him, but that warmth never reached into her blue eyes.  "And I too would like to apologize for my reactions, five years ago."

"Five years is too long to hold a grudge," Van muttered.  But he almost wished it was five years ago.  Things were so much easier when he had been gallivanting around with Hitomi, and when he didn't have a country to rule.  With the end of the war came the beginning of his responsibilities, and at first things were easy enough.  Rejoin, rebuild, and rejoice.  Now though, the country wasn't focused on creating its former glory.  It looked to expand, to grow economically, and that forced Van to take on more than one person could handle.  And this whole marriage nonsense only added to his stress.

"Highness?"

"Yes, Lady?"

"Nevermind, Highness, I see that you are in thought.  Perhaps I shall see you after dinner tonight."  Selena looked nervous as she held her hands together in front of her.    

"Of course," Van replied politely.  He and Gus cast each other curious looks, but did not question after the lithe girl who excused herself and exited the Hall.  

"What was that?" Augustus asked after Selena's footsteps could no longer be heard echoing down the hallways.  

Van shrugged and remained in his lopsided pose on the throne.  Absentmindedly, he reached up and felt the bulge under his tunic, the small lump that concealed Hitomi's necklace underneath.  He didn't have to look down to know that the pink stone was glowing lightly through the thick weave of his red tunic, just as it did every time he thought of her.  

*******

Selena wasn't at dinner.  It was something that Van pondered about as he lay on his overly-large bed.  The ceilings of his chambers were painted dark, with small spots that glowed like stars amidst the bluish-black expanse of the ceiling.  The similarly dark-colored gauze curtains drifted in the breeze, blowing into his room and making the soft blue light from the Mystic Moon and moon dance across his floor.  

Suddenly, Hitomi's pendant filled his mind's eye.  It dangled softly before glowing bright pink and swinging out…in the direction of his door.  He'd learned long ago to take these visions as true fortunetellers of danger.  Without a second thought, he got off his bed and grabbed his sword.

He was half-way to his door when the light knock sounded, a woman's voice calling just as softly after the rapping on his door.  It was Selena's voice.  Van relaxed slightly, and only slightly after remembering that Selena had also been Dilandou, and opened the door.  His sword was still within easy reach, not drawn and ready, but at his side as if it were a walking cane rather than a dangerous weapon.  

"Highness," Selena whispered, keeping her voice down considering the late hour.  And since it was extremely scandalous for a woman to be visiting the King in the middle of the night, she was extra quiet so as not to get caught.  

"Is there something the matter?" Van asked, his face visibly showing all the confusion that his whispered words couldn't quite convey.  

"May I speak with you, privately, Highness?"

"Please, just call me Van, Lady Selena.  And yes, come in."  Van stepped aside and let Selena enter his room.  Earlier this afternoon, he would have been extremely wary of having the former-Dilandou in his bedchambers.  Something about Selena's appearance, though, warned him of things much more important than long-dead rivalries.  Something about her expression seemed familiar.   

"Lord Van, I…" Selena stumbled over her words as Van closed the door, allowing them both to talk a little louder now that they couldn't be heard down the hallways.  She looked frightened, and worried.  At the same time, she seemed nervous, as if what she was going to say would upset him.  And then he remembered why her expression seemed so distantly familiar.

She looked like Hitomi after she'd had a vision.

"What did you see?" Van asked.

Selena's head snapped up, with questions in her teary eyes.  But she chose not to ask how Van knew, she simply said what she'd come to tell him.  "I've seen horrible things."

Van took a deep breath and sat down directly on his carpeted floor.  Selena followed his example, looking too weary to keep standing.  A pink glow from Hitomi's pendant illuminated both figures in an eerie rose light.  He remained silent and waited for Selena to continue.

"I've seen fire.  Such heat that my own flesh cooks and melts off my bones as I stand and watch.  I've seen the Escaflowne swallowed by those flames, turned black from the smoke."  Selena paused and shivered, wrapping her arms about her shoulders, trying to ward off a chill that only she seemed to feel.  "And then there is ice.  The flames turn ice cold, sucking in heat rather than giving it off.  They turn blue, and I start to burn in a new way.  The air freezes the inside of me every time I breathe.  Before I die, I see your black guymelef shatter like broken glass."

Tears were running freely down her cheeks now, and she shivered from more than just her imagined cold.  Selena trembled with fear.  

"What should I do?" Van asked.  It was almost too much.  He was reminded too much of Hitomi and her strange visions.  He half-expected her to burst through his door and tackle him, the same way she did on the bridge to protect him.  His own eyes were moist with unshed tears.  

"You planned on visiting Freid tomorrow, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Then continue on that path.  Prince Cid has called you there for a reason, Lord Van, and you must answer his call.  I see only fires here in Fanellia," she said cryptically.

"Fires?"

Selena nodded.  "Fires of anger, and revenge.  Fires of hatred."

*******

The King of Fanellia was there, in front of her.  Flames burned the palace behind her, consuming the rebuilt castle.  Fire would again claim all of Fanellia, ruining it to nothing but ash and lost hopes.  The same as her village.  

She wanted it to burn!  His guymelef had crushed her family, had killed her people, and had destroyed all of her dreams in one night.  One night of flames and fury had robbed her of everything she'd ever known, everyone she'd ever loved.  

Her vision tinted red, the figure of the King distorting from tanned skin to light red.  His formerly silver sword flashed now in neon bright red streaks, blinding her for only a moment as he readied himself, then charged.  

Estrella held up her hands, meaning to stop him, to ward off an attack.  She hadn't expected the heat to swell up inside her, nearly burning her with its intensity.  At first she thought she'd gotten too close to the flames.  But the fire was inside, spreading from her heart and licking along the skin of her arms down to her fingertips.  It gathered there, like trying to hold liquid in her hands, some of it spilled over the edges of her palms and to the ground below.  Grass withered and died at the touch of the liquid flames.  Black spots remained after the flare of burning grass died down.  

She smiled.

The flames that killed her people, the flames that destroyed her life, were now in her hands.  She could wield them, like she could wield a sword.  Her instincts told her how.  Estrella cupped her hand and held it out in front of her, the liquid pool of fire growing into intense and hot flames.  Her fingers closed around her palm, nurturing the flames to burn even hotter, before throwing her hand out.  She opened her fingers wide, letting the held-in flames leap from her fingertips.  They struck out for one target.  The flames clamored over each other like writhing snakes as they flew through the air, attempting to be the first to reach the King.  They wanted to please their Master.  

Estrella could feel it in the way they fought to be the first to burn Van Fanel.  The flames wanted to please her.  She was their Master.

And she could hear them scream in pain as they withered and died, steam rising from the snake-like flames.  Estrella's heart singed with the same pain, making her clutch at her chest.  Her fire was dying.

A strange woman stood in front of King Van.  She was tall and lithe, her wavy silver-blue hair drifting in the breeze like ripples on a lake.  Her light blue eyes looking like the sky after a rain.  The woman's arms were outstretched, similarly to the way Estrella imagined she herself looked when she released her flames.  But this woman did not have fire in her hands.  This woman had water dripping from her fingers and palms.  Her blue gown ended in a pool of water at her feet.  

Thunder cracked, and lightning lit up the darkness more than Estrella's flames ever had.  Clouds rumbled in acknowledgement, and the rain poured.  

Estrella sat up, panting and trying to gather her wits about her.  Her dream was still fresh in her head, haunting her now awake mind with visions of the water woman.  Rain fell around her, soaking her clothes and the blanket she'd been using as a bedroll.  

Muttering curses about her dumb luck at getting caught out in the rain, Estrella busied herself with rolling up the blanket and slinging it over her back with her other small pack of things.  She didn't have much.  Only enough dried meat to sustain her if she couldn't catch any game, and only her swords.  The guymelef had destroyed her village completely, leaving very little to be scavenged afterward.

Not even a horse was left behind.

And a horse would be very useful in her journey to Fanellia.  She'd even settle for a goat.  But all the livestock had been killed as well, or so scared that it took off fleeing into the woods.  Wild predators probably had a feast.  

With the rain, sleep was impossible.  Estrella frowned and steeled herself against the cold driving water and took step after weary step south.  Fanellia was two days away, and she was going to kill the King.  The warmth of vengeful hatred kept her moving.  She paid no mind to the sleet and hail that soon accompanied the pelting rain.  

The dream, however, would not leave her alone.  

It replayed in her mind, again and again.  She felt the tingle along her arms and hands as she remembered giving birth to the flames from her own flesh.  She felt the ache in her heart as the silver-haired woman poured water over her children flames.  Her ears rang with the screams of the dying fires.  She didn't know what it all meant.  It was only a dream.  But something told her it was more than just a dream.  It was a vision of what was to come.

More than just the King was awaiting her in Fanellia.  

Is it interesting yet?

I hope so.


	4. Secrets and Rumors

Chapter Four

Secrets and Rumors

Van swayed with ill-concealed weariness as he dutifully knelt before the large throne of Freid.  He remembered his first visit here, with Millerna at his side and Hitomi watching from the sidelines.  Prince Cid had mistaken him for Allen, the legendary swordsman that Cid's mother had told him tales about.  Van's lips twisted into a small smile at the memory.  To be mistaken for a gallant knight like Allen – at the time Van had been too proud to see the humor in it.  

"Welcome Lord Van, King of Fanellia," the boy's voice slightly echoed from the dais.  "It is a great pleasure to have you as a guest, once again, to my country."  

"And it is an even greater pleasure to be honored in your country, Prince Cid," Van answered.  It wasn't exactly the correct response according to formal protocol, but Van and Cid had known each other since Cid was six years old – formality was a distant idea for them.  

"You look weary, dear friend."  Cid, the same as when he was five years younger, talked with an eloquence that belied his real age.  With big blue eyes and golden hair, he looked very much like his biological father, but Cid had his mother's lighter blonde and wavy hair.  And he had his adopted father's fierce passion and respect from his people.  

Van looked up from his place on the floor.  "I am weary, Prince.  The nights have not been kind to me."

"Nights are rarely kind to anyone."  Cid held a hand out from where he stood next to the throne.  "Please, come and rest yourself."

Nodding, Van rose from the floor, Gus following his King's lead.  Together, the three disappeared from the Grand Hall behind the thick heavy curtains.

"I understand that Lady Selena is traveling with you," Cid started as he walked with Van through the hallways of his castle.  

"Yes, she is.  The Lady and her escort, Gaddes, are both traveling with us," Van affirmed.  

"I hear that a marriage was proposed."

"And turned down," Van answered the unspoken question.

Cid laughed a little, shaking his head at his friend's stubbornness.  "Millerna will not be happy to hear this," he mumbled, still chuckling to himself.  "And if the proposal was refused, then why is the Lady still in your company?  Or should I not ask?"

Van frowned as he thought of it.  He'd asked that question himself many times over the course of the day.  Ever since Selena had visited him last night and told of her vision, however, she refused to be sent home.  It was her spirit that would quell the flames of hatred, she insisted, and she refused to explain what that meant to Van.

Gus spoke up when it seemed evident that Van was not about to answer.  "Do you remember Hitomi, Highness?" he asked Cid.

"Of course!  Hitomi was so wonderful.  She helped solve the mystery of Plactu's death, and she helped me see that my dream of being a great ruler was not as far away as I had once imagined."  Cid bestowed a brilliant smile on them.  "I remember Hitomi well."

"Then you remember her visions?"

Cid's smile dulled at Gus's words.  "Yes, I remember her telling of the fight, of the war."

"Lady Selena seems to have that power as well, Prince.  And much like the Lady Hitomi, she chooses to stay with Van."  Gus cast a worried glance at his King.  Van remained silent during the conversation, seemingly lost in thought.  Bringing up Hitomi, and the horrible vision that Selena had told Van last night, affected his King in a greater way than Van would ever admit.  Gus silently chastised himself for speaking of it. 

But damage had already been done, and the empty light in Van's eyes deepened.  

"The Lady Selena is full of many natural talents, it seems.  This could have been a reason for her abduction by Zaibach all those years ago," Cid offered.  And once again, the eleven-year-old surprised them all with his wisdom.

"That is an idea I hadn't entertained in the slightest," Van admitted.  "And it makes perfect sense."

"In that case, Van, I suggest that you keep Lady Selena under your protection."

Van nodded.

"What is this talk of my sister?"  A new voice hailed them from down the hall.

"Allen!" Van identified the newcomer, his surprise and pleasure at seeing another old friend overriding his gloom.  

"Lord Van, King of Fanellia," Allen replied, giving a bow that sent his long hair sweeping along the polished floors of the castle.  "It is truly a pleasure to see you.  I was unaware that Cid was receiving visitors."

"It seems as if Cid is very good at keeping his secrets.  I was unaware of your presence here as well," Van answered.  "And you remember my cousin, Augustus?"  

"Yes, I do.  Your most trusted friend and General."  Allen gave a smaller bow.  "A pleasure to see you again."

Gus replied with a bow of his own.  Fancy words were not his forte.  He much preferred action to the formality of royalty, and he knew Van was the same.  But Van handled such formality with much more ease now.  

"And what is your business here, Allen?" Van asked.

"Escorting Queen Millerna on a visit to see her dear nephew of course."

Van nearly choked.  "Millerna's here as well?"

"Yes, and I hear that the Counsel's marriage choice was…unacceptable."

"I apologize.  I do not mean any disrespect to your family…"

"And none is taken," Allen assured.  "I, too, thought the proposal was ridiculous.  Almost as ridiculous as the second-choice."

Van nodded.  "Especially since Millerna is already married."

Allen laughed out loud, drawing the attention of some monks and passersby.  "My thoughts exactly.  Dryden would be most displeased to hear of his wife being married again!"

"Speaking of him, have you heard of Uncle Dryden lately?" Cid asked.

"Millerna received a letter from him just before our visit here.  He is doing nicely and traveling outside of Zaibach now, establishing trade with the newly elected Emperor," Allen answered.  

"When will he return?"

Allen shrugged.  "When he feels he has become a better man, I suppose.  Millerna waits for that day."

"And what of you, Allen?" Van asked.  Despite the possibilities of scandal before Millerna's wedding to Dryden, Allen and Millerna had never established a romantic relationship after Dryden's disappearance.  He dutifully serves as her escort and personal guard.

"I am content to remain a knight."

"No women?"

"And what of you, Van?" Allen asked, a tinge of challenge in his voice.  

Van quieted immediately.  Their loneliness was a sore spot for both of them, and both of them never ceased to remind the other of past mistakes.

"I think it is time you rest, Van," Gus interrupted.  He'd seen this conversation elevate into a clash of swords, and the middle of Cid's castle halls was not an appropriate place for too-proud men to take out frustrations with a sparring match.  To his relief, Van nodded.

"I will see you both before I leave, I'm sure.  And thank you for the hospitality, Cid," Van said, excusing himself from their company.  Cid assured him of his welcome and watched as the two cousins disappeared down a side hall and to Van's set of rooms.

Allen watched the empty hall for a while.  "He seems tired."

"The nights have not been kind to him," Cid replied, repeating Van's words.  

"Does he know of the rumors?"

Cid's face darkened, and a frown marred his angelic features.  "I have yet to ask him."

"Do you think they could be true?" Allen asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared down the empty hall.

Cid made a snort of disgust.  "Do YOU think that Van can kill his own people?  Do you think that he is capable of waking Escaflowne and murdering an entire village?"

"No, I don't."  Allen looked down at Cid.  "But I also noticed that you didn't mention the _other_ rumor."

"If that rumor is true…"  With a shake of his head, Cid said in a clipped tone, "A pillar of light has been seen at our northern borders, Sir Allen.  My scouts have gone to investigate.  We should not jump to conclusions."  Cid gave a sigh.  "And we should not get King Van's hopes up, either, in case these rumors are false."

******

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Ah-Young – technically, this fic is based on the series, but there are some magical elements that kind of stem from the movie.  It's more fantasy-based than the series ever was.

Kartos – thanks for being intrigued!  I hope this chap serves to get you even more interested :)


	5. Breaks and Lapses

Chapter Five

Breaks and Lapses 

"Ugh."

Hitomi's consciousness flittered closer to the surface, letting her register that, perhaps, something or someone was trying…

Another moan, and a shuffle of clothes.

She could feel her body ache, starting with a dull throb in her head.  Her shoulder splintered with each breath, and her leg seemed twisted at an odd angle.

"Hitomi?" 

It was a small and curious voice, laces with heavy doses of worry.  Hitomi frowned at hearing it.  Was there something wrong?

"Hitomi?  Hitomi!"

A light hand rested on her other shoulder – the one that wasn't screaming in pain.  Hitomi forced her eyes open, seeing the dark and extremely close face of Crys in front of her.  Hitomi was on her side, in the grass, and currently had no idea why it was nighttime outside.  

"Hitomi, answer me," Crys demanded.  Apparently a little eye-opening wasn't enough to convince her that Hitomi was awake.  

"I'm here, I'm up," she growled.  She rolled heavily forward, using her bodyweight to get an arm under her and push herself up off the ground.  How in the hell did they get into a meadow?  And…Hitomi looked up into the sky.  

Her breath caught.

"Where are we, Hitomi?" Crys asked.  

Hitomi tried to sit up, but the fire in her shoulder returned, making her wince and fall back to the ground.  The sudden movements jarred her leg, which caused tears to spring into her eyes as she fought to keep from crying out loud.

"Hitomi?" Crys leaned over her, hands pressing against her shoulder and down her leg in quick succession.  Hitomi's breath hissed between her teeth.

With her teeth still clamped together, she managed, "What's wrong with my leg?"

Crys' hands brushed down, and Hitomi opened her eyes for long enough to see the pained expression in her friend's hazel eyes.  She closed her eyes again and waited for the inevitable answer.

"It looks like it's broken.  But how?"

"I don't know.  I must have fallen on it wrong."

"Fallen?"  Crys was looking around, most likely trying to assess where they were and what she could use as a splint for Hitomi's leg.  

"Look up Crys.  See the Earth and the moon in the sky?  We fell from there."  Hitomi's eyes remained closed, and she heaved a sigh.

"You mean, we're HERE?"  

"Yep."

Crys jumped to her feet, all but twirling around in a very childish fashion.  "We're here!  You're going to get to see Van again.  How come you aren't more excited?"

"My leg's broken, remember?"

"Oh yea."  Crys sat down beside her, looking completely at a loss as to what to do.  

"We'll just lie here for now.  Tomorrow when the sun is up, we'll worry about moving."

*****

She heard howling before she registered that the sun was uncomfortably warm on her skin and bright even behind the curtain of her eyelids.

Howling?

Hitomi's eyes opened immediately, staring up at the bright blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds.  The wind swirled around her, disturbing the meadow grasses and ruffling her hair.  It made her shiver, despite the warmth of the sun.  It was an ill wind.  Something was coming, and it was coming fast.

"Animals are coming," Crys said, sitting to Hitomi's right.  She leaned over and put a hand on Hitomi's head.  "And you have a fever.  I can't think of a way for this to get better than to have an incapacitated friend as danger comes fast on four legs."

"Since when are you the pessimistic one?"  Hitomi struggled to sit up, accepting Crys' firm hand on her back.  She didn't jar her own leg too much, and she'd far been used to the pain by now.  

"Since I have such an ill-foreboding feeling," Crys answered, her eyes trained off to the south and searching among the tall grasses for signs of movement.  "Even the butterflies and katydids have abandoned us."

Hitomi listened.  The annoying sound of continuously creaking katydids was, indeed, absent from the background noise of the meadow.  The howling and barking of dogs, however, was getting closer and louder.  

"I guess we wait," Crys said, fidgeting with her fingers and the hem of her skirt.  

"You can go.  Leave me here and go.  You might be safer," Hitomi said, feeling a deep calm.  If she was going to die, so be it.  There was no reason for Crys to remain and suffer the same fate.

"How can you act so calm?  And no, I'm not going to leave you here."  

Hitomi knew better than to argue.  Crys was remarkably stubborn when she set her mind to something, and she'd set her mind to staying with Hitomi.  Hitomi sighed and remained still, awaiting whatever it was that was coming toward them.

"Hitomi?"

"Hm?"

"There are some really big dogs coming for us."

Hitomi squinted against the bright sunlight, looking out over the tall grasses of the meadow.  The bright green blades rippled in the winds, and through the emerald expanse of the meadow, Hitomi saw them.

Dark shapes that loped at incredibly high speeds towards them.  They were the ones howling, and the howling increased in pitch and volume as the four running animals got closer.  She recognized them as the half-human half-dog things that were similar to Merle.  They were growling and didn't appear at all friendly.  

*****

"Cid," Van greeted, nodding his head and showing a bright smile.  Sleeping well for a night helped him tremendously, and Van hardly even felt the intense weariness that had claimed him yesterday.

"Van, so nice to see you looking better," Cid answered back, leading them into the courtyard.  "I have some important things to discuss with you."

"What is that?"  Van noticed Gus walking with Selena on the other side of the courtyard and offered them both a distant wave.  

"There have been rumors, your highness."  

"Rumors?"

Cid sighed.  "Yes.  Terrible rumors that involve you…and the Escaflowne."

Van stopped walking.  "The Escaflowne?"  He shook his head.  "But the Escaflowne has been inactive for years, since the last time Hitomi was here, since the Gaian War."

"Rumors say otherwise."

"I don't believe it!"

Cid held up a hand.  "Please, Van, don't become angry."

"I'm not angry!"  

"Please," Cid pleaded again, his large blue eyes watching Van and waiting for him to settle down and breathe more regularly.  After a moment, Cid continued.  "There have been villages in the mountains, the mountains of your own country, which have been … destroyed."

"How come I haven't heard of this?"

"I don't know, Van.  But I do know that the citizens of neighboring countries are becoming worried.  We've been taking in refugees for many days now."

"How come I didn't know?" Van said more quietly, his eyes taking on a more forlorn look that Cid only remembered from when Hitomi had been captured by the doppleganger.  

"Three villages have been utterly destroyed.  Stomped to the ground and burned to nothing.  No survivors have lived to tell of it.  Only merchants run across the ruins later and report back to us.  The people of your country are very nearly in a panic."  Cid stopped talking, letting this information soak into Van's mind.

"Did it happen at night?" he asked suddenly.

Cid frowned.  "I don't know, but one would assume that an attack would be carried out at night.  Why?"

Van frowned.  "There are some nights…I don't remember them."

With a quick indrawn breath, Cid stumbled.  "Do you know anything of these…"

"I don't know anything," Van huffed, walking away from Cid and going to find Gus.

____

Have a happy Thanksgiving!!  I may not be able to update again till Sunday, so have fun! -jin


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